Andrew Ference on D&C: ‘Step in the right direction’ for Bruins

Bruins defenseman Andrew Ferencechecked in with the Dennis & Callahan show Friday morning to discuss the mindset of the team with the NHL trade deadline looming on Monday.

The Bruins beat the Blues Wednesday night after going 3-6-0 in their nine previous contests. The win allowed them to remain two points ahead of the Senators for the Northeast Division lead.

“We had a couple of frustrating losses before that where we didn’t play bad, but we definitely took a step in the right direction,” Ference said. “We needed it. It was good. … I think it’s one of those games you can always reach back to, you can always look to. We have a team, especially over the last couple of years, it’s always done really well with challenges and always getting up for those big games, and like Andy [Brickley] said, using it as a launching point. It’s just one of those games where you set the bar at a certain level and we do well with trying to keep it there.”

The trade deadline is Monday and the Bruins are rumored to be in the market for help, but Ference said this team does not appear to him like one that is in need of an infusion in the form of a new player.

“I’ve been on teams that have felt like they definitely need an extra element or they need a little jolt just to get them going, and we definitely don’t have that feeling right now,” Ference said. “But that really doesn’t matter as far as whether or not the GM’s going to get something done because we know we have a guy that if he has the chance to make the team better, he’s going to do it.”

Added Ference: “Especially as players, something so far out of our control, that if you really waste too much energy on it, you drive yourself crazy. It is completely out of our control. I think that you really just have to have trust in the fact that they’re going to make the right move if it’s there and not make it if it’s not. That’s really their job. Personally, I really don’t spend any time thinking about it and I’m pretty sure most of the guys are the same. Obviously, you’re going to have guys that love looking at the rumors and checking out all the news from around the league. But there’s really no chatter about it amongst the guys. … It’s just really not talked about.”

There are rumors that the Canadiens will listen to offers for defenseman P.K. Subban. Although the B’s have had issues with Subban in past games, Ference said that kind of thing is easily forgotten.

“If there’s any sport that’s good at kind of leaving issues on the ice, it is ours,” he said. “I think hockey in general is pretty good with that, where guys can fight and then have a beer later. I don’t think there are any issues when it comes to things happening in past games. Me and Benoit Pouliot fought last year and there’s absolutely no issues with that whatsoever. It has really nothing to do with that.

“I think that the bigger issues is whether the guy is good in the room, whether he’s going to be a distraction to the team, kind of upend the dressing room, because there are guys with pretty awful attitudes in this game. Not knowing him, I can’t really say one way or the other whether he’s one of those guys. But he’s a hell of a player. First and foremost, you want a great player on your team and then you worry about the attitude and stuff and hope that a guy fits in.”

On the hype surrounding top prospects: “There’s such a thing as a sure thing, it’s just very rare. There’s guys that I played against in junior that I never thought would’ve made the NHL and now they’ve been in the league for a while. And then there’s guys that look dynamite and they just never develop and never get any better; they almost peak when they’re 18 years old. It’s a really weird thing, scouting, and when teams consistently pick good players that develop into NHL players it really is a skill and it’s an impressive thing. And what you do with the guys after you draft them is so important. It’s a weird thing, I definitely couldn’t do it. I see young guys playing, and I have a hard time seeing the potential.”

On B’s top prospect Dougie Hamilton: “I know that Dougie’s a good player … I just saw him for that short time during training camp and I know that watching some of the world juniors that he looks like a really great player.”